Pirate Boy
by WhatifStoryTeller
Summary: Prequel to Marine Girl. The fateful day has finally arrived for Ace and Sabo to set sail on the open sea; to settle their promise with their other sibling. And joining their journey are a few former friends. Join the Spade Pirates as they mark their name into the history books. AU Later on Fem!Luffy
1. Navigator or Cabin Boy

The two brothers stood on opposite ends and each one was equipped with an iron staff. They had no other weapons or powers, because this was a match to see who would be the last one standing.

The blond grinned as he gotten into an attack position. His tongue stuck out where he was missing a tooth. His goggles glinted in the sunlight. The iron staff was cold compared to his heated body. "This time I'm not going easy on you."

"That's what you always say," the black haired boy snickered. He took the staff in both of his hands. A bandage was taped onto the bridge of his nose. His foot shifted into the dirt as he braced himself for this brawl.

Unlike other fights, this one had a prize that they both sought for; neither wanted to lose and rather fight for it.

They have been training for this fight for weeks; each went on their own training paths and kept it hidden from the other.

Even Magra and Dogra couldn't help themselves from coming to see the outcome. They hid behind the trees while staring intensely at the brothers. Neither knew who would win in this match, they could only guess. "Five on Sabo," Dogra mumbled.

"Now, now, now," Magra started, "We shouldn't be betting on them."

"Ten on Ace," Dadan uttered from another tree. The two followers turned to see their leader hiding farther away from the match with a cigar in between her lips.

"Boss!" the two of them gasped.

"Quite, you morons!" she snapped back. The ash from her cigar fell onto the ground. "I only came here to see the punks get their medicine! Nothing else!"

"Same here," Dogra lied, while Magra nodded his rooster head with the small guy. In truth, they all wanted to see who would win in the end.

Even though they tried to keep hidden the duo already knew of their presence, which only boasted their egos even more. A piece of straw in Sabo's mouth jiggled as he smirked at the hidden trio. He felt bad for Dadan who was going to lose her money in the end. He wasn't going to let Ace win this battle, not this time.

This wasn't a training battle. Not even one over a quarrel the two had.

It was to see who would be the captain of their ship.

"One," Sabo started the countdown. His shoe shifted into the dirt. Trees surrounded them and the sunlight shined through the branches.

"Two."

Sabo took a breath, "Three!" He charged for it.

Ace's eyes widen as he jumped out of the way, "You were suppose to say Go!"

"Go," the blonde grinned as he swiped the ground with his staff. The boy did a handstand and jumped out of the way before the iron could touch him; this was what he's been training for. He knew of Sabo's moves, and Sabo knew of his moves. They had to give it their all to win this match.

"Come on, Sabo," Dogra mumbled as he watched the match.

Ace finally gotten back onto his feet while his opponent was hidden in a gust of dirt. The black haired boy attacked the gust without getting too close. "See if you can dodge this!"

After several attempts, his staff finally contacted his opponent. Once the dust cleared, Ace grunted in irritation. His staff only impacted the blonde's staff.

"Maybe it will end in a tie?" Magra suggested as he scratched his head.

"Shut it," his leader snapped. "They've been training too hard for a tie!"

Dogra and Magra glanced at each other before staring at their leader. She barely noticed their gazes as she watched the battle intensely. By now, Ace took a step away and stroke Sabo's side; who took the chance to slam his staff against Ace's thigh.

The strawhat wearer, Ace, stood on one leg as a grunt escaped his lips. His eyes narrowed as Sabo tried attacking once more. Their staffs clashed and it rang throughout the clearing. "When I win, you're becoming my navigator!"

Sabo snickered, "When I kick your ass, you're becoming my cabin boy!"

Or firstmate, the blonde hasn't decided yet.

The mountain bandits raised their eyebrows at Sabo's declaration, but then they understood. Any other jobs for Ace would only lead to destruction. Helmsman, he would crash the ship. Gunner, friendly fire. Navigator, guide the ship into a whirlpool. Doctor, let's not get started on that.

The battle raged on.

For five days with no break.

Even by now, their fight was old news to the mountain bandits; who retired a few hours after the fight started.

Ace stood in the clearing with his fist into the air. "Looks like you lost, Sabo! Dogra!" He grinned with delight until he noticed he was the only one there. He glanced at the trees where the bandits were hiding at the start, but they were nowhere to be seen. His head dropped down as a grunt escaped his lips.

The blond boy lay down on the ground; knocked out. He had patches covering him head to toe, as did Ace, from their brawl.

"Can't even rub it in your face..." he scratched the back of his head.

...

"She isn't watching us off?" Sabo wondered out loud. The two brothers stood in their small ship. Ace was waving at those who came to see him off, Makino, the mayor, Dogra, Magra and a few other bandits. Dadan was nowhere to be seen.

The breeze shifted along the waves. Leaves sparkled down from the trees onto the ground; some of them lay on top of the Mayor's hat.

"She got her money," Ace gave a small shrug.

"Dogra, Magra," Sabo called out, "Give her a message for us, alright?"

They nodded.

Ace glanced over at his brother and grinned. The two said in unison, "'Thanks for taking care of us'!"

Magra nodded with tear-filled eyes as he listened to each word. He repeated the words inside of his mind over and over; hoping he wouldn't forget any when he gives his boss the heartfelt message.

"She's still a man among men!" Sabo grinned. He repeated the first thing he said to the mountain bandit on their meeting several years ago. Dogra stood there with his jaw on the ground as she stared at the blonde seventeen year old.

The rope, which tied their ship to the island, was untied as their ship drifted along the waves. The wind pressed on their single sail and sent the ship along the waves. Each one of them was waving goodbye to their good friends, "Bye everyone!"

"Don't catch a cold!" Makino stated as she waved her cloth.

"Pirates..." Woopslap uttered under his breath. He could only imagine Garp's reaction, even though the boys were going to become pirates anyways. And then there was their last sibling.

The new captain of the ship sat back and tilted his strawhat over his eyes, "Lu...watch over us."

The navigator patted Ace's hat.

"What was that for?"

"For good luck," Sabo grinned, and added "Captain" as if to mock him. Ace copied the action back on the other boy, which caused the blonde to narrow his eyes. "For real?"

He nodded with a smile. "Course, cause I'm Captain! Captain of the Spade Pirates!"

Sabo shove the strawhat over Ace's face and snickered as he took a step back to look at the display, "Still say we should have used AS."

Ace took Sabo's tophat, "Ass?"

He kept it away from Sabo's reach as the boy tried to grab it back from him. "You know that's not what I meant!"

And the two started fighting once again.

This was only the beginning of the Spade Pirates.

**TBC**

**For those who read my Marine Girl then you already know what's going to happen. This is a...prequel focusing on Ace's journey. Ace has a slight temper, while Sabo likes to annoy him.  
**


	2. Old Loony Man

Ace sat back against the wall and leaned his head over the side. His hair was inches away from the water as he gazed up into the sky. White clouds filled the sky from the north to the south. The sun shined in the west, while in the east the shy darken in blue. "When will we get to an island?" he moaned. He glanced up at the blue jacketed boy on the other side of the ship; Ace's own jacket was unbuttoned at the top.

"And you wonder why I wanted to be a captain..." Sabo uttered under his breath, "It's not like I'm the only one out of the bunch who actually knows where we are going or anything..."

"Stop being a sore loser and tell me already." He didn't know when the blonde was going to accept the fact he lost. They only had enough money to spare for one ship, even though they have been collecting for all of those years. The ship they were using right now was the cheapest they could buy on that island, but it was fair enough room for two people to sleep in. In the middle of the ship was a small storage space. Inside were apples, two sleeping bags, compass, a map, blank papers, pen, clothing, and whatever oddities they packed for the ship; all stacked on top of each other.

Once they gotten to another island, they could actually use their savings for a better pirate ship instead of a merchant ship. The captain could already imagine it in his mind. A wooden boat with a steel keel, with a horse for a figure head. His reason was simple, horse was carried the men off to wars, so why shouldn't a horse carry off pirates to their voyages? Horses stay by their sides in time of needs, and will use their lives to protect their riders.

"We just left this morning!"

Ace raised his eyebrow and leaned down on the palm of his hand. "When the next island?" He repeated his question to the boy in a demanding tone.

The blonde boy sighed in defeat. If he tried to pick this fight any longer, he was either going to be thrown over board or neither of the brothers would talk to each other. He glanced up at the skies where the sun was setting. "If we stay sailing, we should reach a village in an ho-"

"I SEE IT! THE ISLAND!" The black haired boy stood up and jigged on the deck. This was their first island from their pirate journey. Their first adventure as real pirates. Then, he looked down at the blonde boy. "And you were saying it was an hour away."

Sabo's eyes narrowed. "I'm just getting used to this stuff. It's not like I've been in charge of a ship before. If you were left in charge, we would be sailing into a whirlpool for all we know."

"No one is that stupid."

The blonde stay there seated on the ground staring at his captain with a raised brow.

"Just shut up!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't sat anything."

"Stop staring then!"

Sabo shifted his shoulders and hopped onto his feet. His brother was correct about seeing land. In front of them were sandy shores of, "Shimotsuki Village." There were no other boats on the shores. Where the sand ended and the grass started was a tall blue gate protecting the village from attacks. In the middle of the gate was a small entrance.

The walls were covered in white paint with blue stripes. Where the entrance was, was a small roof on top of the gate.

A rope was thrown onto the shore and it was followed by a hammer to pound a stake into the sandy shores. Ace thrown the hammer back into the ship as the rope was tied around the stake.

They stood there at the shore, each of them gleaming up at the gates. "Ready, Captain?" Sabo questioned in a teasing tone.

A glance was exchanged with the two brothers, and soon both of them ran inside of the entrance. Their path was halted as soon as they stepped into the city by a traveling merchant. He was pulling his goods across the village, which lead to his stall rolling in front of the two boys.

They stepped out of the way.

In front of them were walls, similar to those they just passed. The walls separated each person's home from the other, as well as stores and other places. All of them were the same color, except with different sizes walls for each home. Some places had more area inside than others. "This is so organized..." Ace mumbled under his breath, "Way different from Dawn Island."

"What should we do first?"

"I guess..." his eyes darted from one way to the other, "pub?"

Sabo clicked his tongue. How were they suppose to find a pub when every place looked exactly the same. A smile appeared on his face and he walked behind Ace. "Hey! Mister!" he shouted to the traveling merchant.

The stall halted for a second while the old man looked around for the incoming noise.

The blonde boy, as well as Ace, appeared on his side. "Good heavens!" the old man placed his hand over his chest, "You scared the daylights out of this old man."

He gave a nervous snicker as if it was a joke. "Would you kno-"

"Who are you two?" the old man wondered out loud as he raised his finger and brushed his thin beard.

"Oh, sorry," he gave a small apologized nod. "I am Monkey Sabo, and this is my brother, Monkey D. Ace." The black haired boy lifted his finger up when his name was announced.

"This old man is Ojiisan," the man nodded as he gave a final whisk to his beard. He laid his hand back on the cart's handle and leaned against his stall. "Your business?"

"We are looking for a bar. Do you know where one would be?"

"You laddies came to the right old man, who visits it daily! There's an old shack down this very street," he gestured to the one he was walking on, "Just followed it, and you dear boys will be tasting the finest of fine sake in the world! Look for a sign on the wall for Ossan's Shack."

"Thank you," Ace gave a weak nod and dashed forward, with Sabo following behind him. They left Ojiisan in the dust while they came to the place. Outside was a simple sign that read, Ossan's Shack. The brothers grinned and pushed the gate's door opened. In front of them were a few people, in robes, drinking alcohol. Some of them leaned against a small, poor sized, blue tavern.

Sabo and Ace strolled around the drinkers until they reached the bar. Instead was very plain. All of the paint went on the outside, while the inside, there was very little. There was a bar counter on the left side, while on the other side was a few tables. Only one table was filled with three drinkers. The blonde boy shrugged his shoulders and picked a sit at the bar. "Where's the bartender?" he groaned.

"It would be very easy to steal some...goods," Ace uttered under his breath. He swirled his seat behind him and looked at the three drunks, who were laughing at his comment. His hand lay on the tabletop, sliding closer and closer to the other side of the counter.

When he turned around again, there was a knife pierced into the counter. "My, and it was a good table for this old man too," Ojjisan uttered as he was faced the other side. The knife was inches away from Ace's lingering finger, which he quickly jerked back.

"YOU RUN THE BAR?!"

"Why else would this old man visit daily?" he snickered at his own joke. He cleaned off a glass and placed it in front of the two lads.

"...I thought you were just a drunk..."

"With alcohol problems..." Sabo added to Ace's statement.

"He had~ you fooled~!" a drunk at the other table commented with a snicker.

"Those three," the old man pointed at the table with a chuckle, "Are the local drunks, not Ojjisan. Now, what will you lads be having tonight?"

Without any hesitation, the two brothers placed their hands on the counter, "Sake."

The old man chuckled at their responses and started pouring their glasses. It was filled with the favored drink and pushed it closer to them. "Finest sake in the world, right here!"

The blonde boy was the first one to take a slip, and Ojjisan was correct. The drink was tasty on contact with his tongue. When the black haired seen the drink was safe, he took a slip from his own glass.

Soon the glasses were exchanged back and forth as they gotten refills after refills.

**Ace and his crew will not be taking the same route as Luffy. He will go to some of the islands, but for now, it will be a complete different path. He will have his own voyages.**

**Also, I'm taking requests of the different locations. Give me a name (Something Village/Island/Town), theme (throughout the whole island [ex. I'm basing this village on one single picture on the wiki: gates, gates everywhere]), and problem (what would Ace be solving). I've already gotten a few ideas of islands for where Ace picks up ***u/Ro*i*...but the other two (certain cook and a certain pineapple head) I have no clue where to place them.  
**

**EpicAsianOrangeTiger26: Every adventure has to have a beginning...which is why it took me eight months (well...over a year) to get this started.  
**

** Boo4Moo: Heh, thanks! I just love writing the crew so much so I had to do this.  
**

**Before I get anywhere...Sabo, please don't steal the show like last time...**


	3. Injured Swordsman

The two boys stood there in the middle of the gate with their staffs unsheathed out in front of them. "Do you really think that drunk was right?" Sabo asked his brother.

"If he's wasn't, then we only lost an hour of time and won a barrel of sake." Ace dropped the end of his staff into the ground and looked out. They were standing in the doorway of the city's gate. In front of them was a dusty glade that led to the middle of the island. "I'm sure they won't be coming after they heard of us."

The blonde turned and glanced at his brother with a friendly glint in his eye, "Don't you mean heard of me?"

"If they heard of you, they would have killed you a long time ago."

"For being awesome?"

"For being annoying."

"Oh my!" Sabo called out as he held onto his head. He took three steps back and leaned his back against the doorway. His hat tilted over his eyes.

Ace walked over to him with his hands raised up. His eyes flashed across the surrounding, looking for enemies. "What happened? An arrow?"

"No, your insult," he shook his head in gloom, "It has pierced my soul. How can you be so rude to your own dear brother?" The black haired boy tugged Sabo's hat down over his face and went on the other side of the doorway, away from the liar. "Now you're distancing yourself from me?" The blonde asked in a hurt tone.

"HALT!" a girl's voice shouted.

The two of them turned to see this blue haired girl running down the pavement with a sword outreached from her body. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her targets. She charged forward and slashed in front of her, the two boys jumped out of the way. "What?!" Ace yelled, "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"No one will intrude on this land!" she declared as she thrusted her sword forward once more. The tip of her sword touched Ace's skin, and slashed down to across his chest.

"I'm not an enemy!" He raised his hands out in front of him.

Sabo knocked Ace out of the way before she could attack once more, "We didn't intrude!"

"Who are you then?"

The two of them looked at each other, "Travelers?"

"LIARS!" she shouted at them. She jumped into the air and brought her sword downward, the two of them dodged it by seconds. They didn't know who this girl was, but they had no reason to fight her.

Sabo spun around her and picked up his staff from the dirt before she could thrust her sword down onto him once more. With his hands at both ends of his staff, he blocked her thrust. The two of them stood there locked together as Ace brought his own staff around and lined it under her chin. "Put your sword down," he ordered.

"I would never," her eyes narrowed.

"If you try to attack either one of us, with one pull, I can snap your neck." He hasn't killed anyone with his own hands, and he wasn't planning on either, but he could still threat someone. If the push come to show, he can always attack her bluntly to her head and knock her out for the time being.

"Get your dirty sticks off me."

"They are called staffs," Sabo commented. She tighten her grip on her own sword and added more force onto his staff. He, able to hold her power, observed her body. On one of her wrists was a bandaged, underneath it was a bad bruise. On her other thigh held her second sword. "You are a swordswoman? Dual swords?" he questioned her.

Ace grunted at his brother, "Idiot, if she used two swords, she would have came at us wi-"

She loosen her grip, "He's right."

"Ace, can't you see? She has a second one right there." He nodded his head to her thigh. "Why didn't you come at us with two swords? If you have two targets, using two swords would be better than a single."

"None of your business."

"Lady, we are the ones in control right now."

"Because there are two of you."

Sabo lifted him up from one knee and shifted her sword to the right of him. "And you do have two swords. Use them, or don't complain."

"I-I...can't."

He gave a small smirk.

Her shoulders loosen and her blade dropped to the ground. Her other wrist twitched as she held onto it with her other hand. "Do you feel good now? Picking on an injured girl?"

"You were the one who attacked first."

"We are only merely visitors." He picked up her fallen sword, "I'm Sabo, this is Ace."

Her eyes narrowed at them. She didn't believe a word that they uttered. "Why would you stand here with weapons?"

Ace scratched the side of his face. "I guess that does look a little scary, but this drunk at Ossan's Shack told us about this place."

"This is none of your business. Leave."

"Who are you? We told you our names, so at least tell us yours."

The cold metal loosen the grip under her chin. "I'm...Kuina."

"Dojo girl?" Sabo questioned.

"Yes."

"Well, Kuina the Dojo girl, this is our business now."

She shook her head, "No. No it's not."

"Our new friends asked us to protect this place from these," he turned around and looked at the blonde, "...wait, who are they?"

"Crude punks from the next village over..." Kuina closed half of her eyelids as she looked down onto her wrist. She wasn't going to allow them to defeat her once more. The last time they came, her whole life was shattered. Her dream as the world's greatest swordswoman. Gone.

"Yeah, them," Ace nodded. He didn't noticed Kuina's gloom that floated off her body.

"Ace," Sabo whispered his head and nodded to the girl. Ace relaxed the staff and lay it back on the ground.

"Kuina, what's wrong?"

Her shoulders tensed once more as she moved away from the two brothers. "Nothing." Her eyes shifted until she found her sword in Sabo's hands. "Give me that back."

"If I do, then we are staying here."

She gave in.

Sabo handed her back the sword and the three of them took their places at the gate. "Do you think they will come?" Ace questioned after a few moments of silence.

"They will."

And they did.

The intruders came from behind the trees and moved into the clearing. It was only a group of tough thugs. Each of them was equipped with blunt weapons.

With Sabo's and Ace's excellent teamwork, they protected Kuina's side as she went headfirst to the leader of the bunch. Her sword clashed onto his bat. The wood split on impact. Each time their weapons contacted each other, the wood would caved in until he only had a handle.

"Remember me?" she gritted, "The small little girl? Who stood here nine years ago?"

And with that, she whisked around and went inside of the gates. Away from the defeated enemies. Ace and Sabo glanced at each and followed her inside. "What was that?" the black haired boy questioned.

"Payback, I guess you could call it."

Ace nodded and looked down at the ground as he followed her path. He was grinning. This was his first match as a pirate, and it felt great. "Oh, Kuina, do you want to join our crew?"

She halted. "Crew?"

"Yeah, we are pirates!" The two brothers grinned.

She shook her head. "I can't. I'm not into pirates. And I thought you were travelers."

"Oh, come on! You will make an excellent swordsman on our crew!"

Her eyes narrowed at their expressions. Both of them were humming in delight, like little kids. She looked down onto her wrist. The bone was shattered, and will never heal right. Even after getting all kinds of surgeries, her bone will never be straight; the latest surgery was them breaking her wrist once more. "No."

"A life whole of adventure!"

"Barrels of sake!"

The corners of her lips tugged. She couldn't help but be reminded of a little brat who always hanged at her sides. "I'm sorry, but my place is here. I'm broken."

"Did you see you fight? You didn't look broken at all!" Ace tried to persuade her.

Sabo paused and his smile disappeared. He looked to his brother and shook his head, "We can't push her into it."

"But you saw her fight, she handled those thugs like nothing."

"She doesn't want to be a pirate. Can't you tell?"

He glanced back at the blue haired girl and slowly nodded. "I guess...well, then let's get going then. Maybe we will find another crew member soon."

"Hopefully."

They walked back to the docks, and Kuina followed. She stood in the sand as the pirates took off. This was her first meeting of pirates, and they actually helped her. "Bye!" she waved at them.

"See ya!" Ace shouted back.

"Don't work too hard!" Sabo shouted next.

After an hour of sailing, they remembered something. "WE FORGOT THE SAKE!"

**TBC**

**EpicAsianOrangeTiger26: Poor anyone stuck with Ace. I kinda feel bad for Sabo since he was stuck alone with the temper brat for years. **

**Mr turtle: We can only hope someone else helps them. Maybe Zoro will bust out?**


	4. Snotty Brat

The two boys walked through the town of Sexat; which was a small community located on Gosha Island east from Skimotsuki Village. The houses were all built with straw roofs and wooden walls. Some had cement steps to their painted door. His shoe stepped on the green grass to the side of the walkway. Stones were gathered around to create borders from their neighbor.

One boy stood on the bridge as he looked across the small stream that went from one end of the village to the other. While the other one went on his merry way with coin in his pocket. His hat was tied around his neck, hanging down on his back, while his staff was tied to his jacket underneath the straw hat.

He glanced from one house to the other; searching for a store. Unlike Sabo, he was in charge of getting food supplies; since he forgotten about it on the last island. '_A free barrel...just waiting there..._' he thought with some resentment. If he wasn't in such of a hurry, he would have grabbed the wooden barrel and threw it on the ship. Instead, their item was still at the Ossan's Shack. _'Probably already gone,'_ he added as a side thought.

Finally, he stood in front of a stand. The woman who was in charge of the small stand was haggling with a small child.

Ace rolled his eyes as he tapped the ground. His eyes slowly gazed onto the other carts around; one that sold weapons, clothing, and even nicknacks. This was the only cart around that sold food. There was only one other person shopping at these other carts, while Ace ended up in the one where he had to wait.

"Ten beri for an apple? That's highway robbery!" the child uttered with furrowed brows. The child had a high pitch voice that sounded like a girl, she was so close to yelling at the shopowner.

Ace raised his eyebrows. _'10 beri?'_ he repeated in thought. "What type price is that?" He questioned out loud instead of a thought as he first intended it to be. His eyes closed half-way when he realized his mistake.

The woman gazed away from the young girl and onto the boy wearing a unbuttoned yellow jacket. "I'm sorry," she gave a slight nod and turned back to the kid, "Please leave, you are disturbing other customers."

"There's only one, and he can wait." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, "I was here first."

Ace's eyelids fluttered as he turned to look at her goods. "I need two barrels of apples, meat, some limes." His pupils rolled upwards as he tried to think of other items he needed.

Her eyes narrowed and she finally walked away, throwing the apple backwards and hitting the shopowner on the head. "Let's see if I ever shop there again," she grumbled before disappearing across the bridge.

"That was..." his sentence was interrupted when the woman sighed.

...

After a bird dropped its load onto Sabo's jacket, the young boy undid his shirt and placed it over his shoulder. He will have to wash it once they get back to the ship. He walked across the bridge and looked at the wooden houses in front of him; at least he could look around before returning to the ship.

He heard rumors at the docks that there was a marine base stationed here. There was talk about two men who ran the place, and their feuding differences. Mostly, from the sounds of it, it was a small place filled with twelve marines at most; it was split between the two leaders. Luckily for him and Ace, neither one of them had a bounty so none of the twelve would be hunting their heads for now.

At the end of the bridge he saw a old man in front of one of the marines, who was guarding a house. The marine already had his gun out, ready to use if the time called for it. While the old man was throwing insult after insult.

The blonde stepped closer to overhear their conversation.

"This is my house, you nit! I got the deed right inside of my desk! You knave have no right to halt me from entering my own home. Am I suppose to sleep out here with the homeless? Even if I have a home?" The man was going from one thing to another, giving the man in the white suit no time to argue back. "It's your duty as marines to protect us! Yet you're kickin' us out of own homes!" He raised a finger and probed the marine's chest, "You mutt!"

This was the last straw for the marine. He took hold of his gun with both hands. "I was sent here to halt any passage inside. This was an order, I had nothing to do with it."

Both of them looked like any moment blood would be split.

Sabo started running towards them, but another blonde stepped in. He stood in front of the marine and houseowner. His arms were raised as he pushed them away from each other. "Can't a guy relax without his eardrums being blown?"

"It's because of this mutt of the gov-" the old man was interrupted by the marine, "A citizen should not meddle in a marine's affairs."

"Don't care," the newcomer told the both bluntly.

Sabo stood in the middle of the pathway as this newcomer dragged the old man away from the marine. The old man was fighting against the blonde's grip and kept shouting insults at the marine. Sabo followed the two down the walkway until they ended up in dead end. The blonde, who looked only a few years younger than the old man, took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. "Stay here for the night," he stated.

The house owner looked down at the paper. It was a receipt to the inn, which was built at the end of this path. "B-But that won't make up for my house."

"I will see to it in the morning," the man stated. His words were soft spoken as if he knew someone was watching.

The man swallowed his words and gave him a nod of thanks before heading to the inn himself. The blonde man swift around with his boots matted in dirt and glanced at the path he just taken.

His cover was blown so he stepped out from behind a fence and looked at the man with droopy eyes. "That will only help him for a single night," the boy stated.

"Ah, so you have been listening," the man commented with a small smirk. He gestured back to the inn where the man disappeared into, "This is better than sleeping outside."

"What are you planning in the morning then?"

The man's eyes fluttered, "Shouldn't one introduce themselves first before accusing someone of certain deeds?"

Sabo snickered; he could already tell the man in front of him already had plans. "Monkey Sabo, newbie pirate."

He brushed his golden hair back, which stood out on the very top of his head like a crop. His purple jacket shifted on his shoulders; he wore it in the same fashion as Ace, leaving it unbuttoned to show his bare chest.

"I'm Marco, lone pirate."

**TBC**

**I totally stole this scenario from Oblivion, with the exception of the child...who will become a bigger part later on...hehe.**

**Son of Whitebeard: It's the only way someone can stand Ace for more than one hour.  
**

**EpicAsianOrangeTiger26: Since Kuina is alive, he didn't travel far from their village. Probably roaming around the sea sleeping.  
**


	5. Lone Pirate Rebel

Ace carried the barrel of apples on his back, as well as a few other things. This was too much for one person to do alone, but Ace wasn't any single person. He hurled all of the supplies through the city. Instead of following the path that he taken to get there in the first place, he went in the same direction as the girl from behind. The one who snapped at the shop owner.

He walked across the bridge, across the river, and seen the red haired girl. "Hey! You!" he shouted out loud.

The girl didn't even glance around. She was turned around walking towards the town. her green shirt was budging out around her waist; that was how the shirt was made.

He started running towards her. "Hey! Girl!" he shouted once more.

Finally she turned around. Instead of wondering, she was glaring at the black haired boy. "Me?" she questioned with a growl.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "Yeah...the one from the stand." He turned around to grab for an apple, but her voice stopped him.

"I'm not a girl."

"Oh..." his mouth curved into a circle. "Well, uh, sorry then, kid." He scratched his neck. "I just wanted to give you an apple, tha-"

"I'm not a kid either."

Ace phased and observed the person in front of him once more. The boy, who he thought was a girl, was short. He only went up to Ace's elbow at most. "Midget?" he wondered out loud as blunt as ever.

The redheaded boy pounded Ace on the head. "Who do you think you are calling a midget?!"

"Sorry! Sheesh!" Ace raised his arms to block the boy's attacks. "Hey! I didn't mean anything by it! Just take the goddamn apple!"

"An apple?" the boy stopped and looked at the thing in Ace's hand.

"Yeah, I brought a barrel of apples, so...sharing one shouldn't be a problem."

He rolled his eyes and turned around, "Probably just because you thought I was a girl."

"I'm not that shallow."

"So you help anyone you see?" The boy raised his eyebrow as he glanced back at Ace.

"Yup."

"Find a dude named Marco." With that, the boy started walking forward, away from the confused Ace. He took a bite out of the apple in his hand, while there were three in his other. The captain's eyes widen as he looked down at his hand, where the apple he was holding was now missing. "Hey! Thief!"

"You say it was a gift!" the boy laughed with his tongue stuck out and ran for it.

Ace tried following the boy, but he only gotten himself lost in the maze of houses. His head head low as he gazed at the ground. "I'm never going to trust midgets again..." Now he was down four apples and he hasn't even gotten to the ship. "Just great."

He blinked. He was standing in the middle of an alleyway and he had no clue which way to go. He was utterly lost within this town; and he had no clue where Sabo was. The blonde was probably already on the ship with a smug look on his face. Ace could already imagine Sabo mocking him for getting lost in this small town.

_'There's no way in hell I'm looking for someone named Marco. That brat probably just wants to mug me while my back is turned.'_ He paused and glanced over his shoulder to check.

Luckily, he made it to a tavern. Where the bartender was selling all sorts of maps. "I need one of this island."

"Just...this island? Not of the caves or rivers?"

"Actually, just make it of this town."

"I can...just tell you..." The bartender was interrupted by Ace once more.

"Do you have one or not?"

He sighed and slide a guide across the countertop. "That will be ten beri."

Ace's shoulders slumped. "You gotta pay for everything in this town," he grumbled under his breath, but it seemed like the bartender was still waiting to get paid. He sighed and took out two metal coins and placed it in his awaiting hand.

"Two?"

The dark haired boy was already out of the tavern before the man could demand more money. He snickered as he held out the guild. His eyes darted across the map, looking for which way to head.

It was complete nonsense.

"So much for being a pirate when I can get lost on an island," he grumbled once more. He jumped when a reply came.

"You're new to this, aren't you?" A voice uttered from the shadows.

Ace turned and narrowed his eyes into them. "Is that your business?" He shook his head and went back to the guide. His eyes searched for any landmarks that he would find out where he was, and how to get back to the Spade's ship.

A man stepped out of the shadows and looked at Ace. "I was only observing. Thought I could give you some advice, but it doesn't seem like you need it." He raised his eyebrow as the freckled boy huffed and turned the map upside-down. "You don't have a navigator?"

"I do. I'm just..." He did not want to admit it to this stranger, but finally gave up, "...lost on this island..." He bent over his waist and huffed.

The older gave a small chuckle at Ace's sorrow. "Where did you dock?"

"We came from Shimotsuki Village, and docked in front of..."

"I'm guessing on the east side?" He assumed, and nodded his head to the right. "If so, follow that trail until you reach the sea, and turn right. Eventually, you should see your ship."

Ace closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head. At first he thought this droopy-eyed man was only a bum. "Thanks!"

"No problem," he gave him a smaller smile.

The young lad carried along his way and followed his directions, until he was faced with the forest. This was the end of the town, and the start of the wild. "He lied to me!" he grunted. Smoke rose from his fists as he raced back into the city.

"PINEAPPLE HEAD!" he shouted as he raced back through the streets, but instead of finding the man, he found his ship. He stood in front of it, with a twitching eye. "..."

"Huh, Ace? You are finally back?" The blonde leaned his head over the side of the edge and looked at Ace upside-down.

"Did you move the ship by chance."

"Nope, I just got here." He twisted his body and stood up on the small ship. "Figured you would have already gotten back."

"Damn city and damn mazes," he grumbled as he placed the barrel on the ship.

"How much?"

"320 beri."

"For a barrel of apples and some meat?"

"And some other stuff," he shrugged his shoulders. He already forgotten what he picked up. The girl kept giving him choices that he ended up buying more than he wanted.

Sabo sighed, "Makes sense."

"How?"

"High taxes plaguing the city."

"Great place to buy supplies," Ace rolled his eyes. "And when did you become such an expert about this island?"

"Not everyone is stupid as you. They actually do research on the place they are visiting."

"Then why didn't you say anything before."

"...I just found out, alright?"

Ace snickered. "Not like we can do an-"

"We can. I guess there's like this rebellion building up. Learned about this from a guy called Marco."

He imminently shook his head when he heard that name. He already knew it was a trap, and there was no way in hell he was going to obey that thief. "Shit. We are leaving."

"Why?" his blonde eyebrows rose.

"There's a lot of thieves in the city. For once, someone actually stole something from me."

"Well, he is a pirate, so course he could also be a thief. But, I don't think a thief would give someone their hotel room."

The dark haired boy finally gave in. "Okay, just give me the details. Why the hell should we trust a thief and his ally, a pirate?"

"I guess there are these two marines who run the unit on this island. The one whose really in charge is a greedy mule, while the other is a saint...? Yeah, fuzzy on the details, but it seems like everyone likes him."

"Stop," Ace raised his hand, "So we just kill the mule and everything should be fix?"

Sabo shook his head, "Marco has a plan. I guess that thief you mentioned, well he's suppose to sneak in and grab some documents about taxes and such to turn those into the higher ranked marines, but he won't do it."

"Why not?"

"Marco didn't say."

"What did you say then?"

"Say I would talk about it with my idiot brother. He say alright, just don't spill the beans."

A man stepped out of the shadows. The same droopy eyed bastard from before. He looked at the two of them, and they did likewise. "Will you join or not? We only got tonight."

Sabo's lip curled, "How did you find u-"

Ace interrupted him. "Pineapple head! You gave me the wrong directions!"

"But you found the ship. That's what you wanted, right?"

"I only found it because I ran back to hunt you down."

"Instead I hunted you down instead."

The blonde navigator looked between Ace and Marco. "You two meet?"

"He was lost." Marco crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"He gave me the wrong directions." Ace copied him by crossing his arms. He flashed Marco a look of hate. "Tell that thief to give me back the apples." Sabo rolled his eyes at his brother's antics.

"You may have to wait eighteen hours to get those back," the blonde uttered without hesitation, which caused Sabo's nose to wrinkle.

"Ace." Sabo stated, giving the black hair's attention. "We help or not?"

"Add sake and four apples into the deal, and then we will accept."

Marco's eyebrows came together. "Just four?"

"Five then."

"Fine."

**Yeah, I tried keeping the facts right between this story and Marine Girl, but I forgotten that they were suppose to go to Mirrorball Island first, but that's gonna be after a certain island. Mirrorball is important, you will see. *whisper*That kid in this chapter...it's Edward Elric in disguise, don't tell anyone *whisper over***

**EpicAsianOrangeTiger26: He's a man in the shadows.  
**

** Son of Whitebeard: Yup, and add Pineapple head to that as well  
**


	6. Marco the Phoenix

Ace placed his foot into the gap and slowly opened the door. He ducked his head inside and quickly took in his surroundings. The man was lying on his bed, facing the other direction, while one single candle was lit. The black haired boy slides his body against the wall and carefully walked toward the desk in the corner of the room.

Above the man's head was a single poster. A reward paper.

Marco the Rebel.

That name was printed in bold letters. It was a low bounty, seeing as this was the East Blue, but it was enough for the marine to tape it inside of his room and staple it on lightposts throughout the city. The boy observed the poster. Maybe that old man was more than what he had seen.

This lone pirate, Marco, may not be a much of a criminal, seeing as how this was only a reward for information and not an actually wanted poster for his head, but it did mean he has done things to upset a certain group.

A smirk formed on his face as an idea popped into his head. New crew member. He couldn't sail the seas with only Sabo watching his back. He needed members, such as a chef, first mate, swordsman, helmsman, doctor, sniper and other things he could not list at the moment.

Marco would be perfect for the job.

His hand laid on the desk top and he took a hold of the papers scattered on top of it. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for so he grabbed all of them and left the room without a sound. He step he took, a paper escaped from his grip and formed a trail behind him that he didn't noticed.

Sabo stood outside of the barracks, where the few marines rested. When he saw the dark haired boy, he gasped. "Ace! Behind you!"

Ace looked around and seen that he only had five papers left in his hands and the rest was creating a trail.

"What was that? Whose there?!" A voice came from inside of the barracks.

Ace looked at Sabo for help; the two nodded, and ran for their lives on top of the villagers roofs. Seconds after they left stone building, a tired marine stepped out and glanced around. The papers caught his attention and he looked down and picked one of them up. "What's this?"

A hand stretched out from behind a barrel and grabbed Sabo's leg. The two was pulled into an alley way where Marco and that ginger boy stood. "You were about to be caught," the kid uttered in sprite.

"Well, you should have done it," Ace whispered-yelled. It was still a mystery to them why this so-called thief went back on his word of helping Marco.

The old blonde pirate took a step between them and took a hold of the papers that was left in Ace's hands. "Not much we can do with this," he uttered under his breath. The papers only outlined people to watch, such as him, not the brides and heighten taxes that were needed to get this man locked up.

"Should we go back then? Collect the rest?" Sabo wondered.

"It's too late. Marines already started waking." The redhead boy uttered as he turned around. He grunted under his breath about working with rookie bastards.

Marco nodded his head and leaned against a wall. He took a hold of the ends of the paper and ripped it in half. The papers crumpled and fell down onto the ground; Ace watched with gloom. He sneaked into a marine sleepout only to return with nothing, but Marco's words brought him with some hope. "Hopefully someone finds them before they are destroyed."

"So what now?" Sabo asked.

"It's too late to go back, and too early to hear any news. We got time to spare."

…

The redhead boy sat in the boat and took a bite out of the apple. Marco leaned his head back against his pillow and snored. On another boat that was nearby, Sabo stretched his arms as he watched the horizon for Ace.

There were two ships on the shore, one for Marco, and the other for the Spade Pirates. If Ace heard any sign of trouble, he was to come back and they would leave without running into the marines.

Soon, Ace appeared with a paper in his hand; a smile planted on his face. He dived into the sand and hit his head on Marco's sea vessel. "It's not morning," the lone pirate uttered as he looked over the side of the side at the cause of the shaking.

Ace held up the paper with the words clearly printed on them.

Marine Arrested for Tax Fraud.

He lifted his head up and looked at Marco with a toothy grin. "Turns out someone found tax form in the bundle of papers. Evil Marine didn't have time to pick them all up."

"Nicely done then," the blonde took hold of the paper.

"Wait, it actually worked?" the redhead boy questioned with a raised eyebrow. He was thinking that they had to escape, not that this village would be saved.

Sabo stood up in their ship and gave Ace a high five. "Well, that settles that."

"In this village." Marco remarked, but no one listened. Marco was the only one who knew more about the world than than any of these kids. He has been sailing these seas longer.

"We got one more matter to settle though," Ace stood up and faced the blonde pirate. He raised his hand and pointed at him, "You, join our pirate crew."

Marco gave a slight shrug as if it was no bother. He sailed under other pirates names before, but they never lasted long. This kid would not be any different. "Sure."

Ace and Sabo grinned like children and looked at their new crew member, Marco. This was their first step in the grand adventure.

"Not going to ask me?" the redhead boy questioned.

"No one likes you," Ace remarked before turning around and stepping foot inside of his ship.

"Hey!"

Ace ignored the boy.

The boy sat cross-legged in Marco's ship and held onto the railings. "Well, I'm not leaving until I want to."

"Go ahead, no one cares."

The boy fidgeted with anger, while Marco chuckled. "That's Haruta." He pointed at the redhead boy, "Don't let his looks fool ya, he's a swell ki-"

"Man!" Haruta corrected.

"Girl," Ace stuck out his tongue, Sabo nodded as well. No matter how much they looked at the kid, he looked like a girl.

"I guess your position then is babysitter," Sabo shrugged his shoulders at Marco and turned around.

Marco lifted his body from the bottom of the deck and looked at the other blonde. He pointed back at the redhead boy, who was cursing Sabo to death. "I'm not babysitting this kid, he just follows me."

**Sorry for the late update, and I hope this doesn't feel , I made Haruta into Edward Elric (dude who gets confused with a kid). No one knows Haruta's gender nor age.  
**


	7. Dancer with a Sword

The three of them swayed in the two small boats. Marco blew the hair that laid on his forehead until it was springing up once more. The redhead threw out his line back into the ocean, since his last attempt, he wasn't so lucky. In a bucket, on the parallel boat, were half of a dozen caught fishes. Sabo did the same, taking Ace's bait when he wasn't looking, and threw his line out on the other side of the ship.

It was a minor completion to consume time between the two of them. Ace was a part of it until he fell asleep after the second catch.

A shadow laid below the water's surface and when it moved beneath them, the boats roared. Their lines gotten tangled and both lurked upwards with their rods falling to the side.

"What was that?" Haruta uttered as he tried to steadied himself.

Marco gently sat up and glazed around the ship with his droopy eyes. "Probably a Seaking." And with that, he laid back down on the ship's bottom.

And this gotten the attention of their fair almighty captain.

Ace shot up in his sleep and blinked, "A seaking?" He stood on the seat and gazed out until he saw the shadow slowly moving from under the water surface. "Spear!"

Which was their other word for their staffs.

Sabo grabbed their metal staffs and threw Ace's his. The two of them headed to the side of the ship where the beast was only a handreach away.

Ace blasted his pipe onto the beast and imminently it rose out of the water. "Dinner," he muttered with a lick of his lips.

"Scary," Haruta uttered with sarcasm, "I almost shook in my pants."

"Those are pants?" Marco questioned from his resting position, but he went unheard. "I always thought those were tights."

"Shut it, or I'm feeding you to the Seaking, kiddo."

And the midget gritted his teeth. Almost ready to slam his paddle down on Ace's head.

The beast roared into their faces, and spit covered their clothes. Without a shared glance, the two brothers jumped and brash the beast on its head. It slammed down into the way, only a red bump was shown; but it wasn't done.

It swum under the boats once more, rising on the opposite side and tried to take a bite out of Marco. Haruta lifted his gun up and shot the beast between its eyes. Another shot entered its mouth and exited through the right side of its head.

The Seaking was dead. Two headshots made it go down.

Ace and Sabo both looked at Haruta with raised eyebrows.

"You are actually useful?" Ace mouthed.

Sabo banged Ace on the head so Haruta didn't have to do so.

The redhead only smirked and blew the smoke out of the barrel. "Course. I've told ya, I'm a gun expert."

"You didn't," Marco yawned, "Since we joined with them, you've been complaining about being called a girl."

Ace couldn't help but laugh when Haruta's smirk was wiped away by his own friend. "Deserve you right, kiddo."

Haruta raised his gun once more and shot the air, an inch away from Ace's own head.

"HEY! WATCH IT!"

He only shrugged and spun it around in his hand.

"And you missed!"

"Next time I won't."

"Midget!"

"Baka!"

"Trap!"

"Dumbass!"

And the two continued to fight.

…

Because of Sabo's lack of skill, they ended up on the wrong way to the Reverse Mountain and had to backtrail. Their supplies ran low and so they stopped on Mirrorball Island.

The four of them roped the boats along the docks and set through the island. Even from outside they could see this island was crowded.

Everyone was either mingling or dancing and most of the items sold on the island was either dance related or for tourists.

The shopping was left to Haruta and Marco, being the two who knew more about the island. Plus, it seemed like Haruta could get a deal, or get kick out of the place for arguing over the price, because of his childish looks. Which was the first time he didn't complain over it.

Ace and Sabo was touring the city. It was a complete opposite than what they were used too. Blocks all had large buildings that blocked their view, and in the middle of the city was a huge platform. Dozens of people stood on the stage, dancing along to the music. None of them seemed to worry about anything else other than the beat. And the two boys joined in.

People crowded around Ace when he shown off his moves. His arms were flying in one direction to the other.

A huge man appeared in the staring crowd and clapped at the young man's display. He stepped into the circle and began his own dancing which others made room for. Everyone was watching as these two danced away, showing off their moves. And no one knew which was one better. Each looked like a pro.

"Go Ace!" Sabo cheered from the standing crowd. And the others started to cheer his name as well.

"Go Mr. E!" called forth by the others for the mystery guy.

The huge man grinned from the response and glanced at Ace. "Glad to see another dancer." Even if they were in a city of dancing people. He bowed down his hat and slowed down his dancing. "And, I would love to dance with you again, but I have to leave."

The marines moved through the crowd, looking who was drawing this much attention. Their eyes widen when they saw the huge hairy man. "Flower Sword…" the man with bolted knuckles muttered.

People started moving away from the crowd, leaving only the marines and Sabo, Ace and the mystery man.

He paused as soon as he heard them coming. "I guess I was moments off," he sighed and turned around.

"Stand right there, Flower Sword Vista!"

"I'm afraid not," the man uttered and unsheathe his swords. He took charge at the men.

Sabo glanced at Ace, but the boy was already joining in on Vista's attack, and so did Sabo. The three of them charged into the line of marines.

They all fell down, one by one, until there was only the knuckle man standing. He looked down on his fallen comrades and at the three were still standing.

"Now we aren't outnumbered now," Vista chuckled. He turned and looked at the two younger ones, "I believe you guys knew the outcomes of your actions, correct?"

They nodded.

"Alright," he said under his breath and looked back at man in the uniform, "Now Marine, do you stand or do you retreat?"

He growled, "It's Fullbody, you scum! And I will not retreat! You're disrupting the citizens of this land."

"Not until you appeared," Sabo remarked.

"And you two! You two dared to assist the criminal!"

"We are criminals as well," Ace gave him a careless smile.

"Pirates," Sabo added.

Vista looked down at the two and another chuckle escaped his lips. "You are outmatched, Mr. Lawman. And it doesn't look like you have anyone to assist you either."

Fullbody looked around; searching for any backup but he found none.

Ace took a step forward, "I got this." He cracked his knuckles and spun his staff. "And I will make sure you remember who I am. Monkey D. Ace. The next Pirate King."

And he did.

Fullbody ended up beaten on the ground, with birdies circling over his head. The citizens stood there, once more, but gasped instead of applauding the trio.

"It's been a pleasure on meeting you two," Vista faced Sabo when Ace returned to his brother, "But it seems like we are not welcomed anymore. So, let's take our meeting elsewhere."

**Sorry for the long time it took me, but lots of things happened. And, did you know, Vista was suppose to be on the Spade Crew instead of Jozu in Marine Girl, but I get the names confused. Oh well, and Loguetown should be coming up soon. **

**Son of Whitebeard: Oda hasn't said anything about Haruta's gender, so yeah, I had to make it apart of his character.  
**

** XxFire-PhoenixxX: Nope, but Vista is. Let's just say, Haruta follows whoever...which happened to be Marco and will be someone else soon.  
**


End file.
